You Have the Wrong Person

"Why are you here?" Mo Li was somewhat surprised to see him.

"I passed the assessment, so I can move about freely." Mu Xiangli looked at the empty roster on the Martial Arts Hall. "Work hard, don't get eliminated."

Unexpectedly, Mo Li let out a proud snort. "There is no such thing as elimination for us."

Mu Xiangli was stunned. No elimination? He quickly understood. Those under sixteen who had already opened their Qi Mansion, or those under twenty who had entered the Second Heavenly Layer—with such talent, there was no reason for them not to be accepted.

"Then why are you still taking the assessment?" he asked in confusion.

Mo Li said, "We have to be ranked. I heard there will be an elimination mechanism for the bottom ranks later. The bottom few of Group One will be pushed down to Group Two, the top few of Group Two will be promoted, and the same goes for the other groups. As for the last person in Group Four, they will be advised to withdraw."

"Oh," Mu Xiangli realized. "Hehe, I am the top of Group Two. When the time comes, will we be swapping places?"

"Impossible!" Mo Li said, but she was also slightly worried. "I need to practice. Don't disturb me."

"What martial skill are you being assessed on? Is it also 【Wujian】?" Mu Xiangli asked.

"No." Mo Li shook her head.

Mu Xiangli did not disturb her further, standing aside to observe. He discovered that the martial skill Mo Li was practicing also required coordination with movement techniques. It looked much more advanced, likely of purple quality.

*Jealous to death.* Mu Xiangli could not bear to watch any longer and quickly slipped away.

He went to inquire a bit. The assessment for Group Three and Group Four was not about learning martial skills, but opening the Qi Mansion. Whoever could successfully open their Qi Mansion within a month under the instructor's guidance would pass.

"Not easy either." Mu Xiangli eventually returned to the martial arts field of Group Two. Pulling out a stool from nowhere, he sat in a shaded spot, took out a bag of melon seeds from his robe, and began cracking them.

Wang An and the others, seeing this scene, found it somewhat unbearable. "This kid is clearly here to court hatred."

Xu Wei smiled. "Very good. Like this, there is no fear of the other candidates not practicing desperately."

Sure enough, seeing Mu Xiangli leisurely cracking melon seeds there, the candidates who had spent half the day without finding a clue grew even more anxious.

However, Xu Wei probably did not expect that while Mu Xiangli was stimulating the other candidates, he was also observing them.

In this situation, anxiety was considered a genuine reaction, especially for those with weak mentalities or insufficient talent. But if they were spies from other nations who had undergone professional training, they might hide their strength and would not be provoked by his behavior.

Of course, it could not be ruled out that some were master actors who had to put on a show at this moment.

Mu Xiangli observed the candidates, memorizing each of their expressions, feeling as if he were playing a game of Werewolf.

He waited until dusk to speak a few words with Xu Wei before bidding farewell and leaving.

Walking on the street at dusk, Mu Xiangli intended to listen to some storytelling. Unexpectedly, halfway there, someone suddenly shouted at him in astonishment, "Mu Kuan, you are still alive?"

This name was one Mu Xiangli had only heard once from Zhou Yi. He had not even taken it to heart, so for a moment, he did not realize they were speaking to him.

Only when the person rushed in front of him did he snap out of it. Seeing the other party intending to grab his collar, he calmly took half a step back to evade, playing dumb. "This humble one is Mu Xiangli. Perhaps Your Excellency has mistaken me for someone else?"

In front of him were four people in total. Judging by their attire, they were a young man and woman accompanied by two attendants.

The man was decent-looking with large eyes and thick brows, though he currently looked somewhat fierce. The woman beside him was a cut above, with a face that could shame flowers and outshine the moon, appearing delicate and moving. A hint of astonishment flickered in her eyes, and she quickly pulled the man who was questioning Mu Xiangli. "Second Brother, perhaps we have mistaken the person."

As she spoke, her gaze toward Mu Xiangli held a trace of anxiety, seemingly warning him to leave quickly.

Hearing them speak, Mu Xiangli also guessed the identity of the man before him—the second young master of the Mu family, Mu Shiqi, who was the half-brother of this body's original host, though they shared a hostile relationship.

The woman beside him also seemed to be from the Mu family, but unfortunately, Mu Xiangli did not recognize her. He had originally thought they wouldn't meet for years, so he hadn't paid much attention. It seemed he now had to go back and carefully study the Mu family's information.

"How could it not be? Look closely, if he is not Mu Kuan, who else could he be?" Mu Shiqi brushed his sister's hand away, intending to seize Mu Xiangli. "You, a criminal sentenced to beheading, actually dare to escape prison. Consider it your bad luck to run into me. Come, follow me to the yamen."

Seeing him reach out his claws, Mu Xiangli was not polite at all, pushing him away. "Who are you? Stay away from me."

"You are still pretending." Mu Shiqi said to the two behind him, "What are you standing there for? Arrest him and take him to the yamen."

Seeing him like this, the woman still tried to stop him. "Brother, this is the Royal City. You also said that Mu Kuan is a criminal sentenced to beheading. How could he openly appear in the Royal City? There are many people in this world with similar appearances. If you mistake him, you know what the consequences will be."

Although the woman was holding Mu Shiqi back, his two attendants had already rushed forward.

Mu Xiangli now was naturally incomparable to the former Mu Kuan. Without even using True Qi, he easily kicked down the two attendants.

The commotion here gradually drew a crowd of onlookers.

Seeing him so formidable, and hearing his sister's words, Mu Shiqi also lost his uncertainty. "Is it really not him? Impossible... If you are truly not him, why do you not dare to go to the yamen with me?"

"Who do you think you are? You tell me to go, and I must go? This is the Royal City, not a place for you to act wildly," Mu Xiangli said coldly.

"Brother, stop causing a scene." The woman once again held Mu Shiqi back, then apologized to Mu Xiangli, "It was our mistake. We apologize."

Mu Shiqi could not help but size up Mu Xiangli; his temperament was indeed vastly different from the Mu Kuan in his memory.

At this point, he intended to let his sister pull him away, but just as he was about to take a step, guards ran over from the distance.

During the admission period of the Wenhua and Longwu Academies, the Royal City was packed with people. To prevent disturbances, the guards patrolling the city were more numerous than usual. Having noticed the commotion here, they immediately rushed over.

Seeing the guards arrive, Mu Shiqi's schemes arose once more.

"What is going on?" the guard captain questioned.

Mu Shiqi hurriedly said, "I suspect he is an escaped criminal and wanted to take him to the yamen to verify his identity. But not only did he refuse, he even beat our men."

The guards, however, did not believe him immediately. "Do you have proof?"

Mu Shiqi: "I am from the Mu family of Dong City. My Mu family and many people in Dong City can testify."

"Dong City? This is the Royal City!" The guard snorted coldly, but seeing that he did not seem to be lying, a trace of suspicion appeared in his eyes when he turned to look at Mu Xiangli.

In reality, Mu Shiqi had not mistaken him. However, Mu Xiangli now had backing, and he already knew the truth of the matter from Zhou Yi. Encountering someone who still wanted to drive him to a dead end today, he also intended to teach the opponent a lesson.

"Since that is the case, let us go to the yamen together," Mu Xiangli said, then turned to the guard captain. "Trouble you, Officer."

"Come, follow us." Seeing him so cooperative, the guards nodded, then dispersed the surrounding crowd. "What are you looking at? Disperse, all of you."